Universities Fingerprinting International Students Condemned By NUS

A man tests an optical fingerprints reader displayed at a stand of the Expoprotection, an International Exhibition for risk protection and management, on December 7, 2012. AFP PHOTO / LIONEL BONAVENTURE (Photo credit should read LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images)

Universities in the UK are forcing international students to participate in fingerprint checks to prove they are attending lectures.

The move, which has so far been adopted by two institutions, has been condemned by the National Union of Students (NUS) who say it is "discrimination" and academics who describe it as "reprehensible".

Daniel Stevens, the union's international students' officer, said: It is appalling that certain institutions have required physical checks of any quantity and have discriminated against international students when implementing monitoring procedures.”

Again. Unis should have to advertise their monitoring procedures. I doubt int students would pay £20k+ to get their fingers scanned.

Ulster University, which has brought in the checks on its Birmingham and London campuses, added: "Biometric scanning was introduced in response to changing UK Border Agency attendance monitoring requirements."

"We write as academics concerned with the way in which the rhetoric over security is undermining the university as a place of learning and open discussion," the joint letter read. "The latest move by the universities of Sunderland and Ulster, singling out international students to give fingerprints to prove their attendance at lectures, is reprehensible and to be condemned in the strongest terms.

"We call on the universities of Sunderland and Ulster to withdraw the use of this system, and for all other universities to take seriously their commitment to equitable treatment of all their students."